Songs of Miura Anjin, 2024
“Songs of Miura Anjin”
Countertenor: Feargal Mostyn-Williams
Pianist: Marie Otaka
Narrator: Daiki Takeuchi
The story of William Adams, who was one of the first English men to arrive in Japan and later became a samurai Miura Anjin named by Tokugawa Ieyasu, was told through English songs, French melodies, German Lieder, and also the unique 2 songs of the world premiere by British-Canadian composer Isabella Gellis on Japanese haiku by Matsuo Basho. The narration between songs put all together for the audience to understand the story and the programme booklet also played an important role for a better understanding of the lyrics in Japanese.
Marie Otaka
Marie firstly read Linguistics (Phonetics) at the Sophia University and got her fist Masters Degree and went on to the Toho College of Drama and Music to study music. She came to have an interest on English art songs, which led her to study piano accompaniment in London.
She studied at the Royal College of Music and gained the Masters Degree in Piano Accompaniment and the Artist Diploma in Collaborative Piano and was awarded all the possible best accompanist prizes at the vocal competitions during her study.
Now she is a collaborative pianist based in Tokyo and works for the Toho College of Drama and Music as an accompaniment staff and also a member of the Classical Music Live for One Million People.
Collaborative Pianist
Marie Otaka
duotsubasa@gmail.com
Musicasa, Shibuya City, Tokyo
